


An Angel To Guide You Home

by hirusen



Series: Spending The Holidays With Anti And Dark [2]
Category: Darkiplier - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Angst and Feels, Cancer, Character Death, Crying, Family Feels, Forehead Kisses, Friendship/Love, Gen, Holding Hands, Holidays, Hospitals, Hugs, I Made Myself Cry, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kissing, Last Day On Earth, Love Confessions, Medical Conditions, Memories, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, Sad with a Happy Ending, Snow, Touchy-Feely, WHY?!, What Have I Done, Why Can't My Brain Think Of Nice Things?, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 01:00:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13179021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen
Summary: He...didn't want it to be like this, but he didn't have any power over death, now did he?





	An Angel To Guide You Home

"Lung cancer, severe heart palpitations, chronic body pains..." He read the letter from the hospital over and over, his heart sinking further and further into his stomach each time. He swallowed around the lump in his throat; he knew she didn't have much time left. "Dark? What's the matter?" Mark was a little surprised when the named man jumped, clearly not sensing or hearing him enter the room. He glanced to the paper in his hand, then back to Mark. "I...have a favor to ask of you." "What is it?" He took another step closer to Dark, seeing that whatever he was going to ask was making him uneasy.

"There's someone I want you and Amy to met, but...well, I want Wil to come with us." "Does he know them?" "If...his memories from that far back are there, then yes, he will." Dark was worried that Wilford's unfortunately spotty memories would make this endeavor that much harder. Mark saw that Dark was starting to wring his hands together, a nervous habit he formed when he didn't have his cane nearby. "It'll be okay, Dark." The demon's eyes snapped to him, a little fear buried deep within them. "You have to believe that it will be okay." Mark spoke, stunned when Darkiplier let him place his hand on his shoulder; normally, he's not one to suffer any unnecessary touching, especially during the holidays, so this was a strange thing for him to allow.

"I'll get everyone in the car. You just tell me where we're going." Instead of saying the destination, Damien simply handed him an envelope, letting him read for himself where it was from. He saw as the little smile on Mark's lips fell slightly. "...Who..?" "They don't have much time left, and I wanted to do this sooner, but you had plans with your family and I didn't want you to change them." Mark's hand gently smoothed back his hair, the touch most welcomed at the moment. "...Alright. Should I let them know before we leave?" "That would be best. Wil's not too fond of hospitals, so I'd rather have him comfortable before we go inside."

* * *

As they walked the white hallways of the hospital, Mark, Amy, and Wilford noticed that Dark was rather familiar with some of the staff. In fact, he didn't even need to ask anyone how to get to the room this person was in. Damien slowed his steps as he got closer to her room, spotting her doctor outside of her door. "Dr. Issac. How are you?" "Damien! I'm glad you're here. I'm doing fine, but..." He glanced away, Dark reaching up and gently placing his hand on the man's arm. "You did everything you could. We knew this might happen." "...Are you going to be okay?" Since the other's didn't know what was really going on in the conversation, they just hung back, trying not to eavesdrop.

"I'm not sure, but I brought some close friends of mine along with my boyfriend, so I'll hopefully be okay." The doctor gave Dark a tender smile and pat on the arm before excusing himself. The group walked closer to Dark, Amy's hand on his shoulder. "You don't mind them calling you Damien?" She asked, just as confused as the others. "I never bothered to give them my other name; the person inside this room won't call me by anything but my real name. Thought I'd make things easier on the staff." He explained, his hand on the door handle as he took a steadying breath. He was never ready to see what was inside this room, no matter how often he visited.

Opening the door, he heard as both Mark and Amy softly gasped; inside was an elderly woman, resting in a bed with wires spewing out from her in every direction, nasal breathing tubes carefully taped to her face as the other standard medical equipment was hooked up to her as well. Dark took a step inside before he heard footsteps slowly coming into the room, ones he recognized as Wil's. "...Mrs. Cooper? Is that you?" The woman opened her eyes and gave Wilford a weak, but warm smile. "Why, William! It's been so long since I saw you, dear." The ex-military man hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her carefully.

"Well you're just the old scrapper I remember you being, Mrs. Cooper!" "Oh please, William, how many times must I insist you call me Mary?" Mary spoke as Dark gestured to Mark and Amy to come inside. "Mother? How have you been feeling?" Dark knew his master and his girlfriend were stunned by what he called her, but he didn't mind; it's not like anyone really expects any of his family to still be alive after 77 years. "Could be a bite better, but don't you worry, Damien. Your mother is gonna be just fine." He smiled warmly to her as he took the chair that was still next to her bed, tenderly taking one of her frail hands into his own.

"Mother, these are a couple of my friends. Mark, Amy, this is my mother, Mary Cooper." "Oh my. Is he the same Mark you've been friends with since you've been in diapers?" Damien groaned softly at her question, ignoring the little snicker coming from Wilford. "No. But he looks just like him, doesn't he?" Mark walked over then, Amy just a little bit behind him. "Yes he does. Good boy, your old friend. You're taking good care of my son, aren't you?" She asked Mark and he grinned to her. "Yes. Or, well...I'm trying to at least." Mary grinned to him. "Well, as long as you try, then I'm happy."

Damien stroked his thumb against his mother's delicate skin, half listening to the conversation she was having with William. "So, when are you going to ask for his hand?" Mary asked and Wilford sputtered. "Mother!" "Oh, come now, Damien. You can't tell me that the lovely lady there is yours, because I know she isn't." She playfully barked, a knowing tone to her words. "What? But, I...I never--" "You didn't need to, honeybun. A mother knows her child better than anyone, and I knew right away that you weren't like the other boys." Damien looked away. "None of that now. There's no need to be ashamed of who you are. God knows I'm not." Dark chuckled a little.

"Yeah? You're...you're okay that I like men?" "Of course! What kind of mother would I be if I hated my son just because of how he is? It doesn't matter to me whether your skin's gone gray or that you're attracted to men, you are my son and I love you no matter what." Dark pulled his mother's hand closer, placing a little kiss to the back of her hand. "Thank you, mother." She smiled to him with an old affection he hadn't seen in a very long time.

Dark glanced to her medical scans when she tried to fight off a bad coughing fit.  _It's nearly time._ That letter he had recieved this morning had given him the worst news of his life: his mother was going to die tonight. He didn't want her to pass away alone, yet he didn't want to be the only one with her when she did pass. It's why he asked Mark, Amy, and William here; he...was honestly scared of what was going to happen in the next few minutes. He glanced over to the windows and a little grin cracked his lips. "Mother, look." His words drew all eyes to the window and he felt as the whole area filled with awe; despite all odds, it was snowing.

"Oh, how beautiful! Just like the winters we had. Do you remember them, sweety? How you, Mark, and William would rush out, dressed only in your boots and jammies, trying to catch the snow on your tongue." Both William and Damien laughed lightly at the memory, that long forgotten warmth digging into Dark's chest. Damien casted a cautious glance back to his mother and saw the tired content in her eyes, trying so hard to fight back, to have just one more moment with him. "Mother?" She looked him dead in the eyes. "I love you." "I love you too, Damien." And she said it with all the love in the world.

Her eyes drooped closed, her heart monitor spiked and then flat-lined. A moment later, Mary's doctor came in and turned the machine off, draping a blanket over Damien's shoulders and letting his hand linger on his form for a moment longer, leaving the room. She was barely cold when all the color had drained from her body, leaving her looking inhuman. A quiet sob reached everyone's ears, seeing as Dark had his head resting on the bed, his hand still holding onto his mother's, his shoulders bouncing slightly as he tried to keep quiet. Wilford walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. "Sh. Sh. It's okay. It's alright, sh."

Even though Wil didn't really understood what death meant anymore, he knew that Darkiplier's mother wasn't going to wake up. And he needed to comfort him because she wasn't going to wake up. Warfstache was tenderly swaying back and forth, hushing soft noises to Dark as he tried to calm himself, the whole room shocked that they weren't hearing that familiar ringing that came when Dark lost control of his emotions. "Wil, could you get him something to drink?" Wilford nodded to Mark, slowly releasing him before leaving the room. Fischbach tenderly removed Damien's hand from his mother's, ushering him to stand up and turning him so he faced the YouTuber. "Let it out. It's okay, Damien, it's okay." He felt as his hands coiled deep into the fabric of his shirt, his face buried into his shoulder as he openly wept.

Mark moved him so he was hugging him, Amy wrapping her arms around the crying form in his arms as well, holding him from behind. "It's gonna be okay, sweety. It's gonna be alright." She hushed, wanting so badly to do more than just hold him like this. Wilford came back with a soda he knew Damien drank, cracking it open and letting the man have it. His hands still shook a little as he took careful sips, trying to fight off the shock his body was in. "...Did you want to stay for a little longer? Or did you want to head back home?" Mark questioned, unsure of how Dark was truly handling this.

"I-I...I wanna go home. Can...we watch some movies when we get home?" Dark asked, his voice like a mouse. "Of course we can. How about some classic Disney movies?" Mark suggested, seeing as Damien nodded his head as he tried to fight off more tears. "Oh, come here, baby boy." Mark cooed as Dark's hands slid back onto his body, his face tucked into his neck. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay." He comforted as he rocked the man in his arms back and forth, feeling as he weakly nodded his head as he shook with silent tears. They left the hospital after Dark had finished off his soda, getting words of comfort and support between the many hugs he was given.

* * *

It has been two weeks since his mother passed away and Mark took a slow breath. "Dark? I'm coming in." He announced with a couple knocks, slowly opening the door to his office. He was shocked to see the man was busy with paperwork, currently signing something. "Oh, Mark. Hi." He said, putting down his pen. "What can I do for you?" "...I'm gonna put this plainly: how are you doing, Damien?" They've come to an understanding that Mark will only use his real name when he's truly concerned about him. The demon sighed, his eyes glanced over to a shelf in his office; when Mark followed his gaze he saw two small urns sitting next to each other.

"...My father died 20 years before my mother. But their ashes aren't the only ones I have." Dark said as he stood, walking around his desk to stand beside Mark. "Yeah?" He hummed. "If you went into my home, you'd think that I come from a large family. The reality is that I've...been close to hundreds of people, and those people, unfortunately, have passed away." Mark inched a little closer to Dark. "...Can I ask how many ashes you have?" "...54. And...that's out of the 237 people I've known personally until now." "You have pictures of them all?" Again, he hummed. "Like I said, to the untrained eye, it seems like I've got a huge family when in truth the only family I have left is well...yours'."

Mark turned the man, lost. "You, Amy, William and all the other friends you know--along with all the egos--are the only people I consider as my family. You all are the only people I truly love most in the world." Mark was floored by this. Was what he was being told the truth? "And out of all of these people, you, Amy, and Wil are the ones I hold closest to my heart." "Why us?" Dark turned to him then, his hands coming up and cupping his face. "Because of what you have given me again: people I can truly place my faith in, who I can trust with my heart and not be afraid that you'd abuse the love I have for you. Especially you, Mark." Mark wasn't sure why his heart decided that  **now** was a good time for it to try and escape his chest, but it was.

"Because I remind you of the 'Mark' from your past?" Dark shook his head. "That 'Mark', I despise. No, you remind me of the man he  _used_ to be. A man with a good heart and even better intentions. The one who loved all the people in his life deeply. The man...who I first fell in love with." Dark locked black hues to brown, seeing and feeling every emotion playing within Mark's heart. "And I do love you. Maybe not as much as I do Wil, but you are up there." Mark wasn't sure how to respond as Damien tilted his head down so he could press a kiss to his forehead, feeling the honest affection within the action.

"...How deeply do you love me, Damien?" Named man chose not to speak, instead placing his hands on Mark's hips and walking him back into a wall, devouring his mouth once he had him pinned. Mark was panting lightly when Dark pulled away so he could breathe. "And I love Amy just as much." "...Wilford, Amy, and I remind you of the time before the events at the manor, don't we?" "Yes." Dark said, his head resting against Mark's shoulder. "...How far did your relationship with 'Mark' go?" "We...fooled around. Nothing serious, since he was married to Celine at the time. Why? Are you looking for someone to just fool around with?"

Mark glanced away, but enjoyed the little giggle from Dark. "I could always join you and Amy in bed, you know. Wil doesn't mind if you or Amy steal me away to help keep the bed warm; hell, he'd most likely join in if you asked." Mark really wasn't sure what he should be doing with this information. "...Think on it for a few nights before bring it up to Amy, okay?" "Sure. And...Dark?" The man raised a brow. "...I love you." Damien smiled brightly to him. "I love you too. Now, and for the rest of time."


End file.
